As a Palestinian refugee growing up in Kuwait, Faris Alami was a straight-A student on his way to university and a stable career. And then life intervened when the Iraqi invasion turned his world upside down. Fresh out of high school, in the midst of a war zone, Faris found himself in charge of a local grocery store, a precarious experience that he barely escaped with his life. Yet, it was an experience that taught
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In a world that seems to favor top performers, we often overlook the mindset and the methods of everyday entrepreneurs—the underdogs and the misfits who have no particular advantage in life—yet somehow manage to succeed.
Author-and-entrepreneur Gary Schoeniger has traveled the world interviewing entrepreneurs and exploring the research to expose the hidden logic that exposes opportunities, optimizes engagement, and unleashes human potential. Whether you want to start a business, engage your team, or reinvent your career, this podcast will show you how an entrepreneurial mindset can empower ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.
Gary Schoeniger is an internationally recognized thought leader in the field of entrepreneurial mindset education. As the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative (ELI) founder and CEO, Gary’s work has influenced a broad audience – from aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners to academic and organizational leaders worldwide. These include the Kauffman Foundation, the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation, the Cisco Entrepreneur Institute, Tecnolólogico de Monterrey, the European Commission, and the U.S. State Department.
Gary, along with Pulitzer nominee Clifton Taulbert, is the co-author of Who Owns the Ice House? Eight Life Lessons from an Unlikely Entrepreneur, an international bestseller described as “required reading for humanity.” He also led the Ice House Entrepreneurship Programs’ development. The Kauffman Foundation has recognized the Ice House Programs as “redefining entrepreneurship education in classrooms and communities around the world.”
In this podcast, Gary explores the entrepreneurial mindset as a cognitive framework essential for individuals and organizations to adapt and thrive in today’s rapidly changing world.
Are you an unlikely entrepreneur with a story to tell? Do you know someone who is? We’d love to hear from you!
Fill out the form on our Share Your Story page to connect with us.
Episode Blogs
In this episode, new entrepreneur William Snoddy joins us to discuss his life leading up to and including his entrepreneurial journey. After going to prison several times, William is now getting a trucking business off the ground. He and Gary Schoeniger talk about the books and the people that inspired him, the lessons he learned while in prison, and the power of a compelling goal. — Listen to the podcast here: Read the transcript
In this episode, Yiannis Nikolopoulos joins us to discuss how he became an entrepreneur. He is the Co-founder of Clio Muse Tours, an Athens-based company that offers self-guided audio tours and virtual tours for museums across Europe. Yiannis describes how curiosity and humility enabled him and his partners to find the right product-market fit before going all in. And they pulled it off in the midst of the worst recession in modern Greek history. —
Entrepreneur John Kendale joined us for an engaging conversation about his journey to become the inventor and owner of Toppy Toddler bibs. Listen in to hear about how John began his entrepreneurial journey with one simple idea, solving a problem any parent might face, a messy baby eating a meal. — Listen to the podcast here: iTunes Spotify Stitcher iHeart Radio Read the transcript below. John Kendale: How A Single Dad Turned An Everyday Problem Into
Ryann Halo joins us to talk about her entrepreneurial journey. Hear her dig into surviving tragedy and trauma, overcoming it all to become a successful business owner of two award-winning salons. — Listen to the podcast here: iTunes Spotify Stitcher iHeart Radio Read the transcript below. Ryann Halo: How A High School Dropout Became A Successful Entrepreneur I’m speaking with Ryann DiBenedetto. What an incredible story. At age eleven, an unimaginable tragedy struck
Middle school teacher Elias Ruiz joined the podcast to talk about his journey from garage inventor to a successful business owner. Starting in his garage with a piece of plywood and empty 2-liter bottles, Elias has gone on to invent the Feather-Raft, a lightweight raft perfectly suited for a variety of outdoor water sports. The patented design was an iterative process to craft, and Elias shares an array of hurdles he had to overcome while
Veteran and long-time entrepreneur Patrick L. Hughes Sr. joined us to discuss his life, the various businesses he has started, and his thoughts about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Throughout the conversation, Patrick shares his entrepreneurial roots growing up as the child of a sharecropper, his various companies and side hustles, all the way to his successful government consulting firm, Hughes Group LLC. Hughes is the winner of the National Minority Small
Many people want to start their own businesses but end up hesitating because of a lack of funds. But a lot of entrepreneurs have proven that starting a self-funded business is still possible even without much capital. Our host Gary Schoeniger is joined by Melissa Weed, founder of Pittsburg, Kansas-based cleaning business Honey Does LLC. During their conversation, Gary and Melissa unpacked her journey towards being an entrepreneur, her relationship with education and work, and